The Doomsday Project (Sonic SatAM)
by BTBFic
Summary: A story of war, trust and deception, where Sonic, Sally and Robotnik are faced with the impending Doomsday Project's launch with increasing anxiety, heightened by the appearance of a so-called time-traveller with ambiguous intentions. With the freedom fighters divided and fear controlling them, Doomsday seems to only be becoming more and more certain.
1. The Doomsday Project

_Hey there!_ _Thanks for clicking on my fic. It really does mean a lot that you've given me a little chance, as I'm very new into the world of publicising my writing. Now, a little bit of information before you begin reading..._

 _ **1 -** This is based on the Sonic SatAM TV series (and therefore the early Archie Comics universe), so no Shadow/Amy/Knuckles!_

 _ **2 -** There is an OC, and he's a little generic, but give him some time! I don't usually like adding OCs to established series, but his character is necessary for the story I wanted to convey!_

 _ **3** **-** This is for fans of the show - the fic ignores a few episodes for various reasons. These would be 'Super Sonic' for Lazar's OP magic, 'Harmonic Sonic' for the weird robot designs and bad science of the episode, 'No Brainer' for the could-be deus ex machina of the mind-control gun, and 'Fed Up With Antoine/Ghost Busted' and 'The Odd Couple/Ro-Becca' for being rubbish filler. Hopefully nothing too complex!_

 _ **4** **-** Some of the plot elements will seem quite similar to Dragon Ball Z, although by coincidence, and the writing style is inspired by Game of Thrones and 24. I may also bump up the length of a few chapters in the future too!_

 _ **5 -** This is an altered timeline story, so the ending of Season 2 has not happened yet. The story's aim is to make the season ending a little clearer and allow you to imagine more stories in the incredible world of SatAM!_

 _Thanks again for opening this fic to give it a read. It's still a work in progress sitting at around 20000 words right now, but there's going to be a lot more! Hope you enjoy the story, titled_ The Doomsday Project!

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The lava pits exhumed a heat that distorted the views of the multiple SWAT-bots around, with their blasters aimed at the small blue hedgehog in front of them. The cracked brown dirt itself seemed to pulse in the intense temperatures, and the magma beneath could be felt shifting. The last faint echoes of Sonic's voice could be heard fading into nothingness. A low grumble from far away re-affirmed Robotnik's powerful presence - Robotropolis, and the Doomsday Machine, were looming ever closer.

"No, hedgehog, don't do it!"

"...then no-one can!"

"NO!"

The Deep Power Stone almost appeared to glide as it flew into the bubbling lava. There was a hissing noise, then an explosion. The Deep Power Stone was gone forever.

A short silence followed. Then a small chuckle. Then a deep, echoing laugh "You thought that was a fake, hedgehog?" Robotnik smiled.

"It's the real deal, 'butt-nik. And it's gone!" Sonic replied defiantly, after a doubting pause.

"More's the pity for you when Doomsday arrives, then. Capture him... and get me back to Robotropolis. I'm homesick already," Robotnik commanded, with a touch of bittersweet irony. He turned with a grand swoop of his cape and stepped into the waiting hovership.

"You're all kinds of sick, 'butt-nik!" Sonic yelled as the SWAT-bots began to converge. He would get away, Robotnik knew that by now. But the hedgehog had made an incredible mistake. If what the time-traveller had said was true, then now the Deep Power Stones had no use at all – for neither him nor the freedom fighters. It was a large risk, but from what he was made to believe, allowing the hedgehog any use of the Stones would have destroyed everything. Weighing up the other options, it was a risk he simply had to take.

As the hovership took off, thoughts of betrayal crossed his mind. If the messenger had lied, what could he do about it? The Void was always an option, but that felt merciful. Robotization was a bit bland, as well. As his mind trailed off to more exotic punishments, he wondered for a split second what he would do if this turned out to be a success. He wouldn't ever consider himself a pessimist, but to expect the worst was the easiest option, especially with this time-traveller. His first thought was yet again betrayal, as he had done with his once-ally Naugus... But if the messenger did indeed come from the future, then perhaps he knew what Robotnik would have planned for him.

Robotnik stroked his top chin.

 **THE DOOMSDAY PROJECT**

A week passed, and the freedom fighters were getting nervous. There hadn't been a word from Chuck for almost a fortnight, leaving the fighters to fear the worst, and because of this the status of the Doomsday Project was unclear. Hurriedly, Sally had called a general meeting of all the freedom fighters at Knothole. The only chance they had was now. If they risked waiting any longer, then they risked Doomsday coming one day sooner every time. In addition, every second of freedom fighter absence would put Robotnik on higher and higher guard.

The fighters collected in the huts, leaving the leaders of each group to gather and discuss tactics outside in the meeting hall, and in relative peace. Even so, the atmosphere was claustrophobic and every fighter anxious, and the wind felt bitterly cold. Panic was rife.

"Princess Sally, I propose that we use the underground tunnels to surround Robotnik's HQ before launching a quick and stealthy ambush-" Ari began, but was interrupted by an irritated Griff.

"Sorry to rain on your parade, but I've had enough trouble getting from the abandoned underground sectors to here 'cause Robotnik has a lot of the underground sealed and patrolled. It'd be impossible to get anything close to a large group through there without being spotted and choked. " he said.

"Yeah," Rotor added, leaning forward and over the table to look down at the far end, where Sally sat. She was holding her head. "And Sonic spotted some of the toughest perimeter defence we've ever seen, so ground approach is just as impossible."

Sally closed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. The group collectively sighed and the murmuring started again. Sonic, sat beside Sally, leaned over and pat the squirrel on the back. Sally looked up and gave Sonic the faintest of smiles, but her head fell low again when someone mentioned air defence and cloud cover being thin – Robotnik's smoke towers had stopped spewing for the time being, which they suspected was a sign that the Doomsday Project was taking Robotnik's full attention. A brief moment of respite came when a door slammed somewhere, followed by an oblivious cheer from the other freedom fighters, until the murmur began anew.

Sonic leaned close to Sally. "Yo, Sal. Where's the time-traveller at?" he whispered, his feet tapping impatiently on the floor beneath. On Sally's left side, Lupe the wolf turned and looked at the two. Sonic didn't notice.

"I don't know, Sonic," she groaned. "He said he'd be here."

Lupe's expression became one of worry. "What time-traveller?" she asked quietly.

Sonic looked up in surprise and gave Sally a quick questioning glance. Sally, without looking, nodded, and Sonic stood up. He took Lupe's hand to drag her quickly out of earshot of the others. Shooting a quick glance down the meeting hall, nobody seemed to be paying any attention to them. He looked back at Lupe.

"About a month ago, me and Sal found some guy out in the middle of the Great Unknown. Says that he's from a future where Robotnik won the war, and the planet is dying or something. Also says he wants to help us out in stoppin' him. 'butt-nik, I mean," Sonic explained. Lupe looked back to the group, and Sally.

"How do you know we can trust him?" she asked.

"Sal says she doesn't trust him. We been careful with any info he's given us so far, but everything's checked out. He's clear, we think."

"How did he get here?"

"The Time Stones, he says. He's shown them to us. Oh, and one other thing. He says he knows one of the freedom fighters here from the future... didn't say who they were."

Both of them went silent. Eventually Sonic spotted Sally gesturing for the two to come back. The evening dragged on, but miraculously, tactics emerged, and the mood calmed. As the meeting was called off at midnight, Sally couldn't help but feel a little more optimistic. The participants dissolved away, leaving just Sally and Rotor alone.

"Thank you for your insight, Rotor. We really couldn't have come up with this plan without you," Sally smiled at the walrus. Rotor smiled in return and scratched the back of his neck.

"Aww, thanks, Sal. I should have at least 3 of the helmets done by tomorrow morning, and after that, it'll be cool!" he beamed.

Both of them were on their way to their huts when a rustle of fallen autumn leaves startled them. A face came out of the darkness and moved forward slowly.

"You're a bit late, you know," Sally pointed out jokingly, but also with a hint of annoyance.

"I was collecting something. A little present."

The time-traveller pushed a pointy-nosed dwarf towards the walrus and squirrel, wrapped badly with ropes. Both of them gasped.

"What? How'd you-" Rotor asked, stunned.

Snively was out cold, and a little muddy. The time-traveller looked at Rotor. "He let down his guard on a supervised scouting mission. He doesn't know where he is, and nor does Robotnik."

Sally scanned Snively with her eyes, then frowned and looked at the time-traveller. "Are you sure about that?"

"No."

Both Sally and Rotor felt their hearts sink. "What?!" they exclaimed, almost in unison.

"Listen. If the assault is tomorrow, you won't have to worry about Robotnik knowing about the location of Knothole, unless Snively here escapes."

"Tomorrow?! We'll be barely ready for an assault in a week!" Sally screamed. The noise had already drawn a small audience – hut doors were opening, and various animals were stepping out and staring.

"Well, according to Chuck, Doomsday initiates in 24 hours at the most."

And then the time-traveller turned his back and left.


	2. The Mother & The Chair

**22:30 HOURS LEFT / THE MOTHER**

"Do you hear that? That, my boy, is the sound of _productivity_. And without your help I would be... nowhere! Why, however could I repay you, dear child?"

"You could start by quitting the 'child' talk. Second, you could stop thinking about robotisizing me," the time traveller said, looking out of the solitary window of Robotnik's central control room. "I'm not stupid, Robotnik, even if I'm not as old as you."

"I never meant to imply that! Do forgive me," Robotnik hissed sarcastically. The truth of the matter was that he hated the brat, but his contributions had indeed been invaluable. Fortunately, the child was too idiotically stubborn to either notice or care about the backhanded-ness of Robotnik's comments. "Your computing knowledge is almost on par with mine, and that is a feat achieved by very few. You should be proud of yourself."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"Yes, well, you've certainly done more for me than that pathetic dwarf ever has. Speaking of Snively, there hasn't been a word from him in hours! You supervised him to the construction of the new Robotisizer, yes?"

The time traveller looked over at Robotnik and nodded. Robotnik snarled and smashed his fist onto the arm of his steel throne. "Run a scan of the city and report all organic lifeforms!" A few beeps followed, then a snarl. "Boy! Is your technology malfunctioning? There's not a trace of flesh in the entire city perimeters!"

A hovership flew past the window and the time-traveller turned to watch it as it headed for the city perimeters. He himself had advised for extra guarding on the weakest parts of the city walls and already there had been one freedom fighter detained. Another beep drew back his attention. "I assure you, sir, there should be no faults."

Robotnik turned his chair to the multiscreen. "If that deformed imbecile has gotten himself captured, I might do to him what I could have done to you... he'd make an infinitely more useful robotic footrest than an assistant," he spat, his eyes scanning each screen briefly before moving onto the next. He squeezed the side of his seat with his robotic hand, then turned back to look at the boy, re-targeting his thoughts, and slowly began to smile. "You were right in not trusting me, but I think I've reconsidered. Why you betray your own kind... your own mother... intrigues me far too much!"

"I thought she was a no-go topic, Robotnik!"

"Oh, my most _profound_ apologies, dear boy. I meant not to offend," Robotnik sneered. "You just remind me of a good friend of mine. Valuable, useful, but far too hard to get. You may be familiar with him – his name is Oil."

"I get your point," the time-traveller begrudgingly mumbled, standing himself up straight and starting to pace towards the multiscreen, followed carefully by Robotnik's dark eyes. "I've told you this already, you know. The world that Princess Sally makes after taking over is... flawed. It lacks laws. She gave away far too much power to the people instead of balancing freedom with leadership. It was supposedly a utopia for years... until the possibilities of a biased legal system became clear to those studying it, and soon anarchy reigned. The Princess, barely able to manage a coup, let alone an entire planet, was overwhelmed and imprisoned by one of her trusted advisors.

"I was born not long before Sally was overthrown. My father left my mother just before I turned 1, and my mother suspected he didn't make it in his ambitions to join a rebel fighter group and take back the throne in the name of freedom. Even if him and his group did, the society that Sally had created was corrupt now... every man for themselves. No single person could change that, my mother said, until she told me the legends of the Time Stones and how they had been used by the hero Sonic Hedgehog. When I was much older, just a few weeks ago for me, I heard of an expedition by multiple teams to find the Time Stones and use them to stop Sally's overthrowing. I knew it wouldn't work... so I stashed on board one of the teams' planes and stole the Stones myself."

"And how did you know that my victory would assure a better result?" Robotnik asked suspiciously.

"Because when people are given power, they either misuse it or become corrupted by it! If I came to a person already corrupted and evil from the power they have, it... Sally's victory will end with chaos no matter what, so I just need to assure yours."

Robotnik pretended to smile. The brat's logic was so evidently flawed that it was almost painful how stupid he looked.

"So, you are aware of the Princess's organizational skills?"

"A little... but mostly from analysis. She's clearly the same as in the future, because she hasn't the confidence to launch any sort of attack. The other freedom fighter groups probably look to her as a leader, but likely more because they're too scared of the Doomsday Project to think straight themselves than because she's wiser than them. Forcing their hand is an option... but from the data you gave me before, they seem to fight hardest when backed into a corner."

Robotnik turned away from the multiscreen to look at the time-traveller and smiled, a little more genuinely this time. "You're a fast reader, and while a tad basic your analysis was good. I could use your logical thinking more often, perhaps."

The time-traveller didn't appear to notice him, and looked back out the window to watch the machines.

 **19:15 HOURS LEFT / THE CHAIR**

Sally yawned and rubbed her eyes, then tossed her blanket off and swung her feet onto the floor. It was early morning and she had only gotten a couple of hours' sleep. She looked into the mirror and sighed, then picked up a hairbrush and began to brush her frizzy hair. The stress had clearly gotten to her last night. With a last flick of her wrist, her hair was back to normal, but as she thought of the time-traveller's warning she ran her hands through it, messing it up again – a nervous habit. His words had shaken her up enormously. Preparing and launching an attack in just 24 hours had intimidated even the most calm and collected of the leaders, and she knew that she was far from the top in that regard.

Sally's train of thought wandered as her gaze moved towards the sun rising. If she did win and defeat Robotnik, what would she actually do? She would be Queen, or at least Regent until her father was completely rescued from the Void. What if he couldn't be rescued? She was stressed enough organising her own friends; taking control of an entire kingdom would be an entirely different matter. What would Sonic do? His patience would wear thin quickly with nothing exciting going on. And the time-traveller... his assistance could not go unrewarded, but if she rewarded everyone then she could be seen as weak, but if she didn't reward enough then she'd be seen as tyrannical! Sally heaved another deep sigh.

"Mah prinzess! Iz zere a problème?" Antoine was standing in the now-open door.

"Antoine!" Sally yelled, turning and facing him angrily. "Were you spying on me?"

"Who, moi? Oh, no no no no! I was juste, er, how you say it, um... en-quil-ring?"

"You mean enquiring, Antoine."

"Yes, oui, zat is what I am saying."

Sally sighed. "Antoine, I am _not_ in the mood."

And the door was slammed in Antoine's face.

"Hmph! It seems zat someone has woken up on ze left side of ze bed today."

Antoine left Sally's hut, disgusted, and walked back towards his own. Despite having to host a large group of freedom fighters in there (an act which had driven him to a total of only 4 panic attacks, a new record for him), it had only taken him half an hour to clean up and make sure everything was perfect again. He opened the door, stepped out of his boots, walked inside, picked up his boots, then closed the door. Everything was perfectly normal.

He deposited his boots in his cupboard. Everything was ordered perfectly, as usual. Antoine closed the cupboard and turned to head towards his stove, thinking of cooking some breakfast, before something caught his eye – or rather, something didn't catch his eye. He scanned the room quickly. Something seemed very off. He muttered something to himself then set out to inspect the room in closer detail. Four tiny indents in his carpet reminded him that there was a missing chair, so he walked back over to his cupboard, opened it up, took out a new pair of boots, stepped into them, then walked out the door. He forgot to shut it, much to his later annoyance.

Sally opened her hut door and started shutting it upon seeing Antoine's face, but he held it open. "What do you want?" she groaned wearily.

Antoine straightened up. "One of my chairs is going missing and I am thinking you are knowing where it is."

"The meeting hall. Now leave me alone, I'm tired."

Antoine shut the door and quickly found his way to the meeting room. It was in a mess, as apparently nobody had bothered to pick up their chairs. Even then, the condition was appalling – Antoine wouldn't have thought the freedom fighters this riotous. He found his chair upside-down in the corner of the room, and with a clump of hair lying on it. He blew it off and picked it up, then looked around the room one more time before deciding to confront Sally about it.

"My prinzess, sorry to be bothering you but zere is something un-uzual."

Sally followed him to the meeting hall. "What's the problem?" she asked before she looked inside. Antoine pointed at the chairs. "Zey are all downside-up."

"I thought we cleaned this place up after last night..." Sally said quietly. Antoine nodded.

"Oui! And zere is more, zere is 24 chairs in here."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Zere was only 20 guests, non?" Antoine said, with a hint of pride for noticing this himself. Sally ran her hands through her hair again. She hadn't expected something like this.

"Someone's been looking for something. But why was there more chairs?" she told Antoine, who shrugged. She turned back to look at the mess and paused for thought. Even if she had no clue why the person was searching or what they were looking for, she had a vague idea of who.


	3. The Letter & The Watch

**18:40 HOURS LEFT / THE LETTER**

Despite being a robot, Doctor Charles Hedgehog, Sonic's Uncle Chuck, was having difficulty in undoing merely a small wire wrapped around his wrists. He had thought that he could have snapped it easily, working on hydraulics and pistons now instead of aging muscles. His captor was pacing back and forth in the small room that had been Chuck's prison for the past few days.

"Where's Robotnik, then?" he finally decided to speak to the time-traveller. "Aren't you gonna bring him to me; uncover the spy? That's your plan, isn't it?" Chuck attempted to spit at the boy's feet, but all that came out was a small invisible chunk of carbon monoxide. The time-traveller shook his head.

"No, Sir Charles. I've only done this to stop you telling the freedom fighters," he said, and Chuck almost heard a hint of apology in his voice.

"That you actually serve Robotnik? They'll figure it out! My nephew isn't the brightest, but he's not that stupid!"

"I know that they'll figure it out eventually. I just need time."

The time-traveller then turned and broke the old man's metallic heart; he began explaining his purpose. He told Chuck about the present, and the future. Every attempt Chuck made at speech just became stunned, horrified silence: the time-traveller's idea was irrational but made perfect sense; it seemed like a paradox, and the risk that it entailed was great. Yet as his plan continued, Chuck spotted flaws, errors in the boy's calculation, and he began to doubt him - there was an obvious bias, and that would affect the outcome more than the child would realize. He spoke up, protesting the time-traveller's idiocy, but the boy turned a metal remote on the old hedgehog. He had used the same remote to disable Chuck's arms and legs before to bind him for almost an entire week, which had caused enough problems with stiff joints already. Chuck reluctantly shut his mouth.

"Sir Charles, which would you choose?" the time-traveller asked softly, as if the question had no consequence. But it did. Charles understood that his answer could ascertain his freedom, but was that the right thing to do? Lie, and be like the time-traveller, to get what he wanted? He would lose all respect in himself should he betray somebody's trust, so he chose the answer he believed was righteous.

"I would choose neither!" Charles spat.

"Then you sympathise with me," the boy said simply.

Charles paused, astonished, but looked directly into the time-traveller's eyes and shook his head. The boy didn't seem to have noticed. Instead, he was walking around behind the pole around which Chuck had been bound. The hedgehog struggled to turn and keep an eye on him, but could barely see the boy kneeling down behind him and not much else. Chuck was about to ask what the time-traveller was doing when the boy spoke again. "For my plan to work, the following message must be relayed exactly: that the Deep Power Stone Sonic threw into the lava was actually the real one, and that both are now ineffective. You must also say that the Doomsday Project is deploying in 18 hours and that they must be ready to infiltrate Robotropolis no less than 2 hours before it begins."

Chuck felt the string snap suddenly and he pounced to his feet, spinning around ready for a fight, before noticing the time-traveller wielding a small pair of wire cutters. The boy stood up straight and placed the cutters on a console beside him.

"I'm giving you a chance, Sir Charles. I hope you understand the severity of my situation... Please write the letter."

Chuck clenched his metal fists. "I refuse. You would risk the lives of hundreds for this, your selfish obsession?! Look at me! I have lost my body to this war, as well as many other things. My nephew puts his life on the line every day to keep people like your family safe! The whole war is about selfishness and selflessness, and with your attitude you're no better than Robotnik."

"I can correct my mistakes. I have the Time Stones."

"You need to grow up and accept your losses, your failures!"

This seemed to anger the time-traveller a lot, but he kept his face almost expressionless as he stared at the floor like a pouting child.

"What if," Chuck suggested desperately, "just your appearance even once changes the fate of the world? Haven't you heard of the Butterfly Effect?"

The time-traveller finally displayed some emotion and snorted with contempt. "I have no time for theories. I deal with reality!"

"Did you still have to destroy one of the Power Stones? Even if they might have been abused before, that does not mean they will be again!"

"I can't guarantee anything! Time changes, but people don't."

"How can you be so ignorant? People _do_ change! Look at yourself! When you were born, you would have been an innocent and kind young child, but now you are selfish and heartless, doing anything to save himself!" Chuck finally exclaimed, letting out all his contempt for the foolish young boy out at once. It didn't feel good.

"You know that isn't true, Charles! You were too stubborn to encrypt the Robotisizer files fifteen years ago and now you're still too stubborn to WRITE A DAMN LETTER TO SAVE THE WORLD!" the time-traveller suddenly roared, turning and pushing his face into Chuck's metallic moustache. The two glared at each other for a while before the boy snapped his head away. "I can't trust people like them. That's too much of a risk."

"Then why am I any different?"

The time-traveller wiped his brow. "Because I thought you would understand why what I am doing is right. I thought I could trust you, even a little."

"It's not right. You're risking so many lives by doing this."

"And by simply leaving it, I risk millions. Write the letter, Charles."

"I won't."

"Then the deaths of those millions, even the entire planet, are on your shoulders."

"I refuse to take any part in your madness."

"Then I shall write the letter for you," the boy said, then picked up a quill and piece of paper from the desk in front of him. Chuck felt rage filling him and he charged at the time-traveller, grabbing him around the chest and wrestling him away from the desk. The time-traveller struggled to grab the remote from the desk before he was yanked away from it and thrown across the room by Chuck with a crash, landing heavily against one of the control panels and flicking plenty of switches, turning a few monitors on beside him. The kid groaned in pain as he rolled onto the floor, and put his hand on his back. Chuck snorted with contempt and moved to the desk to take the quill and snap it, before the time-traveller suddenly pointed the remote at Chuck and pressed the button. Chuck felt his limbs cease to be under his control, and he rigidly fell to the floor.

The time-traveller eventually got back to his feet and limped over to the desk again, picking up the quill and paper that he had dropped.

"You're a dirty fighter," Chuck scowled.

"The world is dirty, Sir Charles, and if I wasn't writing this it would soon be a lot dirtier."

Chuck rested in furious silence on the floor as the time-traveller continued writing. He finished, then rolled the message up and looked towards the mechanical courier pigeon. Chuck followed the time-traveller's gaze, and watched as the boy picked up the courier and dropped it on the floor before lifting his knee and stamping on it. There was a faint squeak as the metal bent and compressed. A couple of bolts fell out of its open beak. Chuck sighed as the time-traveller lifted his boot off of the small metal bird - that thing had kept him company while he had been stuck in there, paralysed by the remote like he was now.

The time-traveller left shortly after, and it wasn't long after that when Chuck's motor functions returned in his arms and legs. He pushed himself to his feet and stretched out – something which, despite being a robot, still felt great. The quill was still on the table, along with some more paper, so Chuck instantly pulled up a chair and started writing.

The pigeon courier squeaked a little, drawing a quick glance from Chuck, but he turned his head back to the paper. "I'll have you fixed up soon, little buddy."

 **18:00 HOURS LEFT / THE WATCH**

Snively woke up somewhere in the Great Forest.

He had no idea where exactly at first, but it was a forest, and he couldn't see anything but forest for miles around, so that was the most likely guess. With a yawn, he sat up and took a worried look around him. There wasn't much but trees and bushes for as far as he could see, and the height of the trees made him feel even smaller than usual. He remembered suddenly why he hated this place.

However, as his eyes scanned the surroundings slowly, he spotted one little clearing, where there appeared to be a small stone bridge... with a constructed wooden banister passing over a quietly flowing river. Past that, if he focused, he could see many big thatched-roof huts.

'Knothole!' he thought, and despite having never seen the place he had no doubts at all that he was in Sally's freedom fighter headquarters. 'But how did I get here?'

He stood up stiffly and brushed his clothes, sweeping off little brown clumps of dirt and grass, before raising his hands in front of his face and looking at them. Dirty, with green marks. For a moment he wondered how long it had been since he had seen himself covered in something natural like this. He rolled his eyes – he had been covered in oil only yesterday after that meddlesome time-traveller had 'accidentally' walked into a worker bot and pushed him into the oil lake they had discovered...

The time-traveller!

It was the only plausible explanation. Snively had reserved his doubts about the boy from the start, but warning Robotnik was useless. The time-traveller had bought Robotnik's trust when he'd shown the oaf a bunch of undiscovered oil lake locations. Even then, he'd just kept coming up with new ideas that all helped, like improving efficiency rates and SWAT-bot AI. Everything went in favour of the time-traveller, and Snively was left in the shadows. Not that he wasn't used to that, but this time it was a lot more personal.

Snively began to walk cautiously in the direction of Knothole, deciding that running away was a bad option – he'd have more of a chance getting back to Robotropolis using the Freedom Fighters than fleeing blindly into the Great Forest. He instinctively looked down at his wrist but his watch had gone, another sign that the time-traveller had done it – he would have known that the watch was able to geo-locate his current co-ordinates. As a matter of fact, Snively had designed it himself as part of a failed attempt to discover Knothole through scrapped SWAT-bots, and was quite proud of it. Losing it was almost like losing a friend. Snively sniffed.

As he made his way closer to the camp, he ducked behind a tree as he finally felt the gravitas of the situation. He was literally metres away from something he'd spent almost 10 years looking for, a place that had caused him sleepless nights and misery without end after Robotnik's incessant demands. He tried to change his train of thought and devote his entire attention to the present circumstances. If he'd been kidnapped, then why did the time-traveller leave him _outside_ Knothole? Did the freedom fighters even know they had him? If they did, why didn't they have him tied up and under close guard? The only logical explanation seemed to be that they didn't know he was there. He let out a heavy breath, then peeked out from behind the tree.


	4. The Leaf & The Barrel

**Author's note** : _Hey guys! Thanks for reading so far. Hopefully you're enjoying the story, there's much more to come in the next few weeks. If you're feeling kind, please do leave a review, it would mean a lot to me. Anyway, I made a slight correction in the opening note, specifically about episodes I consider 'canon' for this fic. It's only a minor thing! Once again, thanks for reading this far, and do enjoy today's chapter._

* * *

 **17:55 HOURS LEFT / THE LEAF**

Rosie the childminder rocked gently back and forth in her rocking-chair, watching Tails as he slept in the bed in the corner of the small but cosy cabin. It was still quite early in the morning and the little fox was fast asleep. Rosie herself had only woken up a few minutes ago, and she was also still very tired – the other freedom fighters had been quite rowdy last night and kept her awake a little longer than she would have preferred, but she didn't blame them for their excitement, with Robotnik's defeat just around the corner. She rubbed her eyes wearily, then decided that a good pick-me-up would be to step outside and take a breath of fresh air.

The door opened almost on its down, and Rosie poked her head out, taking a deep breath in. Already she felt a little better. She took a small step outside and rested on the doorframe, looking out on Knothole. Everything looked fine, and everything felt fine. Rosie had never felt more fine. The world felt peaceful, even if the wind was a little strong as it rustled the tall autumnal trees surrounding them. The browns and golds waving to her reminded her of the happy memories of seeing her friends and family as a child. That was one of her strengths, she realised – her memories refused to be tainted by any pollution.

As she stood, smiling incandescently, a sole leaf fluttered into view on the wind and landed on the wooden patio in front of her. She bent down, a little stiffly, and picked it up. It was a Birch leaf. She knew that because when she'd been little, she'd done a leaf collection with her dear Nanny. Maybe that would be a good idea to do with Tails, even if he was getting a little old for something like that.

She held the leaf up, then let it go as the wind picked up again. The leaf majestically floated a few yards then dropped rather suddenly to the floor. Rosie smiled a little to herself, but a cold wind picked the leaf up once again. This time, the leaf was taken out of sight. Rosie shivered slightly and stepped back inside, closing the door.

The cabin was warm, and she returned to being comfortable and peaceful after a short rest back in her comfy rocking-chair. Tails was showing the signs of waking up soon, too – he was stretching and yawning. That, or he needed the toilet again. Rosie got out of her rocking-chair and walked over to the sleeping child, then stroked his forehead gently with her thumb. His eyes opened slowly and she smiled. "Good morning, Tails," she said softly. Tails yawned.

"I need to go to the toilet," he groaned.

"Nobody's stopping you, dear," Rosie chuckled gently, and Tails pushed his way out of bed to stagger his way to the toilet door. He was out after a couple of minutes. "Rosie, I've just been sick," he moaned, before suddenly falling limp. It was only because Rosie was cleaning the floor that she managed to catch him before he hit the ground.

She rested the unconscious Tails on the bed and scurried as quickly as she could to the door. Opening it hurriedly, she rushed out, looking frantically around for help. She barely spotted a small person with a long nose that she didn't recognize and immediately called out. "Excuse me! Can you help me, please, a child is very sick!

Snively was taken off guard by the sudden yelling. He squeaked and ducked behind the tree again. "Please! If you don't help, then... I don't know what could happen! Please!" came the voice. It was the sound of fear that Snively recognised all too well. He peered around the tree and saw the old squirrel lady looking straight at him. "Please!" she cried again. Her face was filled with terror. Something he didn't recognise at first, but something he realised he must look like every time Robotnik bellowed at him. He then realised that he was sympathising with somebody. It had been a long time since he'd been able to do that.

Snively found his legs moving of their own accord towards the old squirrel lady and the hut and, before he regained control, he was inside it, staring straight at Tails. The enemy. One of the people responsible for making his life horrible. And yet, strangely, he felt pity for the poor creature as it lay there, coughing and dribbling a little.

Rosie looked from Tails to the small man. "Do you know what the problem is? Can you help?"

Snively's lips moved without him wanting them to. "I-I think so..." came his voice. He cursed inside his head. 'Think' was a word Robotnik had told him to delete. It was either 'know' or 'don't know' and even then he would be bashed for not saying so before. He tensed up automatically, ready for another scolding.

"Oh, thank heavens. You have no idea how grateful I am for this," Rosie said, sighing heavily.

Snively had been thanked. A warm feeling touched his heart. It was almost pleasant, too. In fact, it felt wonderful.

 **17:20 HOURS LEFT / THE BARREL**

Robotnik leant back in his control chair and watched the multiscreen monitors. Each of them displayed different things, but one talent of Robotnik's allowed him to absorb information easily. The first screen showed excellent progress on the new Robotisizer, and the second cut between various shots of the oil lakes that the boy had shown him. The third had a small area from the city perimeters which had been a hotspot for freedom fighter activity, and the fourth a shot of a long dark room which housed hundreds of barrels of oil on tall shelves. There were a bunch of smaller screens which displayed other vital areas, but Robotnik was focused on the fourth main screen.

The time-traveller was pacing back and forth, as he liked to do, in front of the rows of shelves, and appeared to be talking to himself. The microphones had never been made very sensitive on Robotnik's surveillance cameras, but the occasional word came through. Very little was interesting – it was seemingly just the boy reminiscing aloud about his mother.

A pair of SWAT-bot shadows were cast suddenly as they appeared in the off-screen doorway. They marched into the room and placed the barrel in a corner, as the shelves were fully-stocked. Both robots walked out the way they came. Robotnik leaned forward as the boy looked suspiciously at the barrel. Then he kicked it, and it fell over, but Robotnik thought he had noticed something odd about the kick.

"Rewind surveillance tape, screen 4," Robotnik ordered after a short moment of interested confusion. The screen paused, then rewound about thirty seconds before playing again. The SWAT-bots brought in the barrel then left, and then the time-traveller kicked it. As he kicked it, there was just as loud of a noise as when it clanged to the floor.

"Rewind again! Play at a tenth speed, and enhance volume!"

There it was for certain – a first bang as the boy kicked the barrel. There was no way that just a boot could make that amount of noise when kicking a full can, and furthermore the barrel would have weighed far too much for such a scrawny child to have just tapped it over like that without feeling some sort of pain. There was something funny about the boy's right foot. Something metallic. Something robotic.

Something which could be exploited.


	5. The Other Letter & The Liar

_AN: Hi again guys! Hope you're not too tired of Snively, because he's back again! Don't worry - this is the last you'll see of him for a couple chapters. Otherwise, do enjoy this chapter, and I hope things are starting to warm up now after a relatively slow beginning!_

* * *

 **16:45 HOURS LEFT / THE OTHER LETTER**

"Sonic, I literally can _not_ believe you."

"Accidents happen, Sal. We'll find him!"

"Sonic, this is so much worse than an 'accident'! You could have just revealed the location of Knothole to Robotnik!" Sally screamed. She had trusted Sonic to do _one_ thing and he had screwed it up about as badly as it could be done. As usual, she supposed. All of this was probably her fault. If she hadn't been stupid and allowed Sonic to keep an eye on Snively, none of this would have happened. He was so irresponsible!

"Snively won't find a way back out of the Great Forest. We're almost dead center of the one of the largest forests in the world, Sal. He's got a real long walk back to Bot-town," Sonic said. Sally had given him the responsibility of looking after Snively _just_ when Rotor needed him most. He'd left Snively a good way away from Knothole then gone back to help Rotor out for ten minutes or so, and when he'd came back Snively had gone. All that was left was an old birch leaf.

The two turned their backs on one another and folded their arms. They stood in silence for a second, and both considered turning back and apologising, but the door to the hut opened again, and Antoine and Bunnie walked in.

"Hey, y'all. What's the matter?" Bunnie asked. Both Sonic and Sally humphed and looked away from each other again.

"Oh dear. I am thinking zat zis is ze inappropriate timing to be talking. We shall go now, goodbye!" Antoine began, turning to leave, but Bunnie stamped on his toe. Antoine yelped and hopped backwards, out of the hut and out of view.

"Ignore him. Look, I have some good news," she explained as she held up a letter. "It's from Chuck."

Both Sonic and Sally turned at the mention of the letter. Sonic's Uncle Chuck had been silent for almost a whole week, and the prospect of some intelligence now was a beacon of hope. Bunnie opened the letter and cleared her throat.

 _"Sonic and Sally,_

 _You must be careful. I have met with your friend the time traveller, and as of yet I have no reason to trust him. Be wary, and don't believe everything that he says. There's no evidence against him, but like I've always said, you have the power to make your own decisions. Good luck. Write to you again soon,_

 _Uncle Chuck."_

Everything was quiet for a while. Even Bunnie's reading had petered out in confusion towards the end.

"Mondo weird," Sonic finally said, breaking the silence. "Since when has the time-traveller met Uncle Chuck? Think he knows a way into Robotropolis that we don't know about? I thought Rotor and Ari said their guard was super high," Sonic pointed out. Sally nodded.

"He knows something we don't, that's for sure, and he hasn't informed us about it yet. Chuck is right, we should be more wary of this time-traveller than some of us have been."

It was then that Bunnie held up something else, reasonably small and handled delicately between her organic forefinger and thumb. Sally noticed, and stepped forward to get a closer look. "What's this, Bunnie?"

"Ah was hopin' y'all would know what it was. Antoine found it in a clump'a hair on his chair in the meetin' hall," she sighed, placing it in Sally's hand.

Antoine appeared in the doorway, still hopping one one foot and clutching the other. "Yes, oui, oui, I did zat!"

"Oh, you're kiddin', Antoine, it can't still be hurtin' now, can it?"

The following conversation about Antoine's foot being deformed forever was ignored by Sally, who turned to Sonic. "This is very suspicious, Sonic. I don't know what's really going on with that time-traveller, but we're going to find out," she said defiantly, looking at the chip. "And I think we've narrowed in on the prime suspect for whoever was searching the meeting hall... We just need to find out why."

Sonic nodded. "I'm with ya, Sal. Once we go get this chip checked out with Rote, then we can really start asking questions."

 **16:25 HOURS LEFT / THE LIAR**

Tails was sleeping peacefully now. Rosie was sat back in her rocking-chair, and Snively was squatting on a small wooden stool. It had only been about an hour, but it felt like an extraordinarily long time to Snively. At least back in Robotropolis he had not only his watch but Robotnik's angry demands to keep track of and pass the time with. He'd never had any 'free time'. Robotnik had declared the concept revolutionary and disgraceful upon Snively's proposal. "You want 'freedom', do you, Snively?" he'd hissed into Snively's sweat-dripping face. "You want to associate with the rodents in the Great Forest, do you? Get back to work!"

"What did you say your name was again? I apologise, it's been quite a stressful day!" Rosie asked. Snively was finally snapped out of his daydream and looked blankly at the squirrel.

"Oh, my name, um..." he began, and immediately started to feel the familiar trickle of sweat running down the side of his face. "It's, um, Miles," Snively finally blurted out. Rosie laughed, and Snively glared at her. She didn't notice.

"Oh, isn't that a lovely coincidence!" she laughed. Snively's expression changed to look rather confused.

"I-I'm afraid I don't understand," ...sir, he was tempted to add. It was such a repeated phrase it had almost lost its meaning to him.

"It's Tails. His real name is Miles, you know?"

Snively put his best attempt at a smile on. He didn't need a mirror to know it needed a lot of work.

"I've never met you before, I suppose," Rosie said, leaning back in her rocking-chair after a couple of seconds of slightly awkward silence. Snively scratched the back of his head.

"I... don't come around here often," he admitted. He was certainly telling the truth, albeit vaguely. That always seemed to work when Robotnik was forcing his unreasonable demands down Snively's throat.

"Where do you live, then, Miles?

"Quite far away," Snively said simply. Rosie seemed not to be bothered with his vagueness.

"And how is it there? Has Robotnik been causing you grief too?" Rosie asked. She looked genuinely concerned, too, which surprised Snively. He'd always believed idle talk to be entirely idle.

"Oh yes. Very... very much so."

"Sometimes I wonder if he ever even tried being nice! I remember when he was War Minister for the King. Even then, he never seemed genuine."

"He-" Snively stopped himself. "He probably wasn't..."

Tails mumbled and both Snively and Rosie turned at the same time. Snively stood up and walked over to the bed, looking closely at the young fox. He was still asleep, and nothing appeared to be wrong. It was a good thing that he had learned first aid when he was younger. Sometimes he missed his younger years, but as he thought of the power he controlled, even under Robotnik, he got a little tingle. He'd convinced himself that his subconscious was willing to aid this child only so that he could be robotisized later, and potentially be used as a weapon against the Freedom Fighters. They wouldn't hurt one of their own, he had thought morbidly.

He jolted himself back to the real world yet again and turned back towards Rosie. "He's alright. There's, um, nothing wrong."

"Oh, good," Rosie said simply. Snively went back to his stool and sat down.

"So, what's your job, then? Back in... wherever you live, that is?"

Snively was completely unaware of the infrastructure of the freedom fighters, except that they had a leader. "Sorry, I... don't quite understand."

"Your job, everyone has a job. I'm the Nanny, I take care of the young ones. Sonic's the leader, Rotor's the technician, and so on. So, what's your role?"

"I... err... I'm the technician. And... analyst. And supervisor."

"Well! Doesn't all that sound important! You must be very clever and highly trusted to do all that."

Snively almost blushed. "Well... thank you." Her words almost gave him a new sort of respect for Robotnik trusting him so much. Then again, where trust ended and confidence in his threats began was a blurred line for Robotnik, giving Snively a brief thought of the time-traveller.

"You have to be careful these days, you know. Trust is rare. You should hold onto it as well as you can, as difficult as that might be..." Rosie said solemnly. She was looking out the window again. It was a bit of a sudden mood change, something Snively hadn't seen from her before. He supposed that being a Nanny was a pretty boring job, and she must get a few negative thoughts. In fact, he was tempted to nod and agree with her statement, but she was wrong. He knew that you just had to be lucky to get trust, and he was having a lucky day.

Rosie looked back at Snively, who was now also looking out of the window. Snively noticed the lack of grey. It looked strange.

"Are you alright, dear? You look a little... forlorn," Rosie asked.

Snively didn't reply.


	6. The Chip & The Scientists

**AN:** _Thanks again for reading, guys. This time there's a little bit of melodrama for the time-traveller, but I assure you it's not just to cement his status as a Mary Sue! Do enjoy!_

* * *

 **16:15 HOURS LEFT / THE CHIP**

"I dunno where this came from, but it definitely belongs to a bot," Rotor explained, poking at the chip laid out on his palm. His workshop was a little dirtier than usual, a result of stress from the sudden increased pressure and, additionally, days of hard work building the prototypes for his new inventions. There were long metal poles and little oil puddles on the floor, a set of strange metal boots and multiple empty mugs on his many desks, and on the central platform at the back of the room stood the currently-malfunctioning de-Robotisizer.

The freedom fighters had determined the previous night that Robotnik's rumoured newer models of the Robotisizer appeared rushed, suggesting there were major component flaws in the older versions. If this was true, locating a scrapped model could give them the exact parts they needed to repair their de-Robotisizer, and that could be a turning point in the battle. Just minutes before, Sally had brought up the prospect of sending Rotor with a couple of escorts separate to the main attack force so that they could attempt to locate one of the old models. It would be like searching for a needle in a haystack, Rotor had admitted, and with Doomsday looming so near and posing such a serious threat – all of this enhanced by the potential that the time-traveller was hiding information and the enigma of the chip which Rotor was now examining again – he suggested that the de-Robotisizer had to wait.

"I tested it out on a scrapped SWAT-bot, and it seems to affect somewhere on the lower body, but I don't have any legs for this old guy any more." Rotor leaned over to the head and torso of an slightly rusted SWAT-bot attached to a large battery and patted it affectionately. Sonic scratched his head as Sally ran her hands through her hair. "So it's definitely for a bot. I'm assuming it's not Bunnie's?" she asked, but Rotor shook his head.

"The hardware is much newer than Bunnie's. Like, I haven't seen this stuff from even the best of 'buttnik's bots, even though it appears retro-applicable," he said, puzzled. "I dunno how that's possible, considering it's almost definitely from one of the freedom fighters."

Sally nodded with certainty. "It has to come from the time-traveller then. And that confirms our suspicions that he was searching the meeting hall last night, too. Oh, brother, this is just making things even more complicated..."

"Sal..." Sonic finally spoke, putting an arm on her shoulder for reassurance. "You should probably get some breakfast. That'll clear your mind up. And, you know, I could really go for some chilli dogs."

Sally nodded. She was definitely hungry; she hadn't eaten in almost a day from the stress of organising the whole movement of the freedom fighters. "Yeah. Let's eat, I'm starving." Together, they left Rotor alone in the workshop, and he turned back to the metal boots with a determined crack of his knuckles.

 **15:30 HOURS LEFT / THE SCIENTISTS**

"3 days until the freedom fighters launch their attack? That's a very bold assumption, dear child," Robotnik sneered. Back in his main hall, the time-traveller was standing in front of him and holding a slightly dirty, slightly crumpled letter in his hand. It had indiscernible handwriting scribbled apparently quickly on it, but even Robotnik's extensive knowledge of cryptography and language analysis suggested no interpretation of that sort for the nonsense doodles that he examined as he was handed the paper.

"I told you to stop calling me child," the time-traveller said, hands behind his back. "I got the letter from the freedom fighter captured a little earlier today. According to her, it details the freedom fighter's plans for the next 72 hours. What exactly they are, I don't know." Robotnik scanned the letter once again, then looked up with half a raised eyebrow.

" _You_ captured a freedom fighter?" he asked, then leant forward and grinned. "Whom, perchance, is this freedom fighter?"

The time-traveller's expression was blank. "I've sent the order to bring her in for you. She was very resilient, it took three SWAT-bots to pin her-"

"I hate guessing games, boy. Who _is_ it?" Robotnik interrupted. The time-traveller paused and looked away from Robotnik, and the man's harsh snarl transformed quickly into a sinister grin. "It's your mother, isn't it? I know she's alive now. Must be quite young, early-to-mid-twenties perhaps?"

The time-traveller glared at the floor. "As a matter of fact, it isn't."

Robotnik forced a laugh. This time-traveller was far too easy to catch off guard. "Well, who, then?"

"Bunnie Rabbot."

Robotnik's face almost lightened up. "Why, very impressive!" he said, with a smirk. "The part-Robotisized country girl? It's taken a lot more than three SWAT-bots in the past to pin her successfully. In fact, I know that you have lied to me. I assigned you a crew of just two SWAT-bots for border patrol. The girl wouldn't have been stupid enough to try a perimeter breach where there were any other bots. Own up! What are you hiding, and why?"

The time-traveller looked up, flushed, and knowing he had been defeated. Robotnik delighted in seeing his expression sink dramatically, just as he loved watching in Snively. "I... I am part-Robotisized as well, Robotnik. My foot," the boy admitted. Before Robotnik could open his mouth to angrily object, even though he'd already known this fact, the time-traveller continued: "In my future, there were still misguided attempts at long life. The robotization recipes that Charles Hedgehog had created prior to your coup still existed, and other scientists began augmenting them under Royal commission.

"When Sally was dethroned, the scientists hurriedly attempted to save what work they had done, and so rushed in the willing to be Robotisized for the supposed chance of surviving the coming chaos. Even the unwilling were sometimes rounded up and forced into the Robotisizer by greedy scientists, wishing to profit off of robotic control... not unlike you. I was kidnapped in my teens by one such rogue scientist, working in a secret facility... the group that burst in and rescued me just after the process had started was supposedly the group my father joined."

Robotnik mimed a yawn before his expression became one of anger again. "How melodramatic. The only thing more severe than your _tragic_ life story will be the fate that befalls you for keeping this secret from me. If you truly wanted this war to go in my favour, you would allow me to analyse the technology in your foot, which could be used to build a new Robotisizer!" he barked. "My trust in you is fading quickly, boy. You had better find a way of amending this, or I might find a certain Robotisizer room allocated specifically to you."

The time-traveller shook his head. "You're wrong. The reason why I couldn't give you the tech is simply because I don't have it. Like I explained, the procedure was experimental and incomplete, so it had bugs. The major one that I consistently encounter is that my foot breaks easily. The chip that contains the information you need falls out regularly... Normally I notice, but this time I didn't and I've lost it. Anyway, I've already given you the plans for the best Robotisizer I was aware of in my time."

Robotnik was silent for a while. The boy was right, but his reputation had certainly been damaged in Robotnik's eyes. Another secret like that, and he wouldn't hesistate for a second to throw the child into a Robotisizer machine. He leant back in his chair and snarled. "Bring in the prisoner!" he ordered loudly, and the doors behind the time-traveller opened. The boy stepped aside as Bunnie, held at the arms by two SWAT-bots and supervised by two more behind them, was taken in, squirming and kicking.

"Excellent," Robotnik muttered, his mood improving greatly as he watched Bunnie's helpless, adorable writhing. "Now, old girl, tell me – this letter tells the details of the next three days, or so I am told. Could you perhaps assist us in confirming this?"

Bunnie was lifted into the air by the SWAT-bots after her attempts at knocking out the feet of her captors, and she used the opportunity to kick one heavily in the chest. It staggered backwards, but was supported by the robot behind it. "Even if ah knew, y'all wouldn't get nothin' from me!" she screamed, kicking the SWAT-bot again with a violent cry.

The time-traveller watched in silence. Silently, he prayed that Bunnie would keep to resisting instead of accusing him. Robotnik grinned and his eyes glowed. "Oh, dear girl, I'll be getting everything from you. Just you wait," he hissed, then looked at the SWAT-bots. "Take her away, and prepare a Robotization chamber for later. Make sure I'm alerted before the _fun_ begins."

The SWAT-bots turned and started to walk off, Bunnie kicking and wailing as they took her away. Before the room's large door shut, the time-traveller saw her turn back in desperation to look at him. "Do you think torture is really the best way to do this?" he asked, after a short pause.

Robotnik's seat turned, and he frowned at the time-traveller. "Why shouldn't it be?"

"She's part robot. Tough. Physical punishment isn't enough. She only confessed to me because she thought I was with her."

Robotnik stroked his chins. "Then what would you suggest?"

The time-traveller shrugged. "No idea."


	7. The Vanishing & The Enemy

**15:00 HOURS LEFT / THE VANISHING**

Antoine knocked on Sally's door. It opened slowly, and he peeked in. "Ma princess?" he called.

No response.

He closed the door and turned to look around Knothole. Still nothing. Nobody had been around for the past five minutes or so, causing him to believe there had been some sort of meeting and he hadn't been invited. Quickly, he scurried over to the river and took another look around. Where was everybody? It troubled him that he wasn't considered important enough to be let in on what was happening. What would the freedom fighters do without him?

A thought crossed his mind, and he looked up at the sky. No; it was still early afternoon, the invasion was happening in the evening. He decided to go and poke his head into Rotor's workshop, Sonic's hut and even the power ring pool, only to get more and more frantic and worried as he discovered each was empty. As he started running back to Knothole, he began to hear people's voices again, much to his relief, but still he couldn't see anyone around. To check if the freedom fighters were suddenly all in the meeting hall, he walked towards it, only to find himself inexplicably bouncing off some kind of round invisible wall and landing on his backside.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, Antoine!" came Dulcy's voice from apparently nowhere.

Antoine shook his head and blinked a couple of times, then stared up at Dulcy, standing directly in front of him and looking down with contempt.

"Oh! Dulcy, I am sorry but I am not seeing you before," he managed to say, despite the complete confusion in his head. He stood up and brushed himself off. Now his trousers were all dirty.

"Well pay more attention next time, right?" Dulcy snorted.

"Dokie-okie!" Antoine said, putting on a bad smile, before quickly scuttling off. As he moved out from around her, the other freedom fighters had suddenly returned, walking about and talking, as well as in the huts. Rotor was even standing in the door to his workshop, looking puzzled. He walked his way over to Sally's hut once more, and knocked on the door. It opened shortly, and although Sally was sorely tempted to slam the door shut on Antoine his expression made her reconsider.

 **14:30 HOURS LEFT /** **THE ENEMY**

Sonic felt, for some reason, that he hadn't been given enough attention over the past day or so. It wasn't fair, 'cause heroes don't exist to love themselves. They need to get loved, and Antoine's 'fascinatingly underexaggerated' story of how everybody had disappeared wasn't helping the love to flow in. Sonic was sitting down near the ring pool and kicking the dust. Unusually for him, he thought, he was sitting still. Even thinking. If Sally had said it, though, he would have denied it. Modesty is an important part of being a hero, even if he forgot about it occasionally.

Sonic was confused. Mostly about the time-traveller, but also about Robotnik. He'd been keeping himself so quiet and holed-up in Robotropolis since the meeting at the lava pits and the destruction of the fake Deep Power Stone, so much so that Sonic was beginning to think something strange was going on with regards to the Power Stones. And the increased defences he'd seen, too... either Robotnik was scared of the Power Stones and he'd been bluffing at the lava pits, or he had been telling the truth and he was just making sure he kept himself super-safe so Doomsday could go ahead as planned. It seemed like the first was more likely, though, and either way Rotor's new gadgets were so great that he was almost convinced they wouldn't need the Stones.

He realized his mind was wandering, so he put it back on track. Robotnik. There was something more going on, behind all this Doomsday stuff, he just knew it. Robotnik never did one thing at a time... although the smoke plumes... He put his head in his palms and sighed. It only made it worse that Uncle Chuck hadn't written in forever except that one letter about the time-traveller, cause it didn't make sense that he would know the time-traveller, meaning the time-traveller could get into and out of Robotropolis easily. That would explain how he got Snively, maybe, but it didn't explain why the letter came so suddenly out of nowhere, and why the time-traveller shouldn't be trusted. The only solution he could think of was that the time-traveller was a double agent, working for Robotnik.

Hold on... that made a lot of sense. He could go into and out of Robotropolis because Robotnik allowed him to, and maybe Uncle Chuck got kidnapped when the time-traveller found him, but he escaped to send the letter. The time-traveller had a robotic part, they knew that, so maybe Robotnik had him programmed all along! He must have delivered Snively to the freedom fighters to buy their trust, and when he told them that Doomsday would start today... It must be a trap! Sonic stood up, proud of himself, then realized that Sally had probably already thought of that. He sat back down. Anyway, Chuck would have told them straight that the time-traveller was evil.

Sonic felt useless. Heroes came in 2 types, he thought. The clever ones and the cool ones. He was a cool one, but he wasn't clever.

"Hey, Sonic!"

Sonic jumped out of his seat as he heard the time-traveller's voice coming up from behind him, and span quickly around. "Oh, yo. Where ya been?"

The time-traveller frowned. "Looking for Bunnie. She's gone missing..."

Sonic flinched in surprise. "No way! Seriously?"

"Nobody's seen her for a couple hours, and everyone's been told to stay in Knothole until plans are finalised for the invasion tonight. It... is happening tonight, right?"

Sonic nodded suspiciously, eyes fixated on the time-traveller. "Yeah... sounds real fishy that she's gone though. Speakin' of fishy, I've been thinking about 'buttnik."

The time-traveller tried his best not to look surprised. "Have you come to any conclusions?"

"Yeah," Sonic said, with a little proud smile. "I think he's bluffin' about the Deep Power Stones. He's put up extra defences just so he can hide behind them. But I don't think we'll even need to use the Power Stones to beat him!"

The time-traveller nodded. "I agree, the Deep Power Stones are too valuable to him to throw away. We'll win easily with them, if we need to use them."

Sonic noticed a piece of paper in the time-traveller's right hand. "What's that paper?" he asked. The time-traveller looked at it, his expression brightened, and he held it up and gave it to Sonic.

"It's a letter from your uncle. While I was out looking for Bunnie, I found it on the floor near the Robotropolis perimeter. I think Bunnie was taking it out of Robotropolis but got captured, and dropped it."

Sonic froze. There was no way that the time-traveller had made his way to the Robotropolis city edge and back in such a short time. It took at least a few hours to get there if you weren't a supersonic hedgehog, and he would definitely have been seen by the border patrol. And on top of all this, Chuck would never send a letter on foot, it'd be way too dangerous. Yeah, Sonic was now almost certain that the time-traveller was working for Robotnik.

"Go on, read it," the time-traveller insisted. "I saw the name at the bottom and kept it for you."

Sonic looked back down at the paper. It wasn't Chuck's neat, formal handwriting, nor was it the type of language he used either. There was also a spelling mistake that even Sonic could see. Definitely not the work of his uncle... but he read the letter aloud anyway.

"Dear Sonic, Sally, and all the freedom fighters,

The Doomsday Project and all the information I've collected about it is unreliable. Robotnik has been taking extrordinary precautions to keep the information under wraps, but this morning I beleive I've found your weak point. Robotnik is building a Robotisizer inside the core of the Project, which would make the perfect point to strike!

However, there is a major problem. The Deep Power Stone Sonic threw into the lava was, apparently, the real one. I sadly must advise that you should not rely on the Stones for your victory over Doomsday.

Hopefully this letter gets to you before time gets too short. I'm writing this at midnight, and I predict there's about 26 hours until Robotnik will launch the Project at 2 or 3 AM tomorrow. You should be there a few hours before it launches, though.

I have to wish you all good luck, because if you don't assault in the next day, then the planet is doomed.

Chuck."

Sonic looked suspiciously at the paper. "Weird. Doesn't look like Uncle Chuck's handwriting... doesn't sound like what he'd write, either."

The time-traveller showed a hint of worry. "Is it possible that Robotnik could have forged this to throw us off?" he suggested. Sonic shook his head, feeling smart all of a sudden.

"No way. Robotnik doesn't know about Chuck, and we have proof, cause he sent us a letter earlier today."

The time-traveller was paling. Sonic took advantage of the situation, and quite cleverly, he thought to himself. "So, where'd you get Snively from, anyway?"

The time-traveller breathed heavily and rubbed his nose. "Sonic? Old pal, are you... doubting me?"

"Are you... answering my question?" Sonic returned snarkily.

Sally and Rotor suddenly appeared out of the bushes, running, and stopped as they saw the time-traveller, and Sonic's smug grin. "Sonic, Bunnie's gone... Wait, what's going on?" Sally asked.

The time-traveller gave Sonic a desperate look. Sonic ignored it and turned to Sally, holding up the letter. "Our friend the time-traveller delivered this to us! It's from Uncle Chuck, and he found it right outside Robotropolis perimeters. Isn't that right?"

Sally snatched the letter, not bothering to pay attention to the time-traveller's reaction, and read through it quickly. "This isn't Chuck's... it's not his handwriting," she exclaimed, to which Sonic smiled, and pointed an accusing finger at the time-traveller.

"You're working for Robotnik!" he shouted. The time-traveller, Rotor, and even Sally were all taken aback by the sudden claim. Despite the fear clearly obvious in the time-traveller's face, he remained silent, and Sally looked at Sonic, confused.

"Are you sure about that, Sonic?" she questioned. Sonic nodded.

"Yeah! First off, Chuck knows him! So he must have got into Robotropolis, which would be easy if he was working with 'Buttnik. Second, the chip. It must've come from him, so he's part-robot, which means he could be controlled by 'Buttnik. and third-"

"You've got my chip?" the time-traveller suddenly interrupted, seemingly calmly. Sally groaned and ran her hands through her hair.

"Yeah, and, uh, if you want it back, then you better come with us!" Rotor demanded, stepping forward with his hands on his sides in an attempt to look heroic. The time-traveller stepped back, but not because he was intimidated.

"I don't need it. I just ask for your trust, please. I'm no traitor," he pleaded. Sally shook her head defiantly.

"I don't wanna hear it! You're keeping far too many secrets! Snooping around with your robotic body, and even disappearing the same time Bunnie did!"

"It's called curiosity, Princess. And yes – I have a robotic foot, but does that make me your enemy?" the time-traveller admitted. He was still avoiding argument around the possibility that he was working for Robotnik, because he realized the evidence was stacked against him. It was better to keep quiet about it and try to regain their trust in other ways. Sonic, meanwhile, stepped back, feeling quite proud of himself.

"There's a line between curiosity and snooping, you know," Sally pointed out.

"I moved a few chairs," the boy pleaded.

"You've been disappearing constantly when we need you."

"You're looking in the wrong places for me."

"You're keeping secrets from someone who's supposed to be a friend!"

"You're interrogating someone who's supposed to be a friend!"

"You're running out of counter-arguments."

The time-traveller stopped, and looked at his feet. He had lost again.

" _You_ aren't going anywhere for now. Hand yourself over, or risk losing the little trust I have left for you!" Sally announced.


	8. The Wind & The Barrels

**AN:** _Looks like the end of Snively's arc for a little while! Hope that him and Rosie's conversations weren't too boring. Meanwhile, Bunnie's got herself into a real situation here. What will all this lead to?_

* * *

 **14:15 HOURS LEFT / THE WIND**

"He's just asleep now, isn't he?" Rosie asked.

Snively nodded, standing over Tails and watching him sleep soundly. He had been sitting in the room for hours with the old Nanny now, simply discussing the freedom fighters or the weather, or just staring out the windows. He had learnt a surprising amount about the structure of the freedom fighters through their little conversations, and had made mental notes about the importance of the technician and the locations of the training areas that were used for young freedom fighters.

He'd also been practicing his smile over the last few hours. The tales she had told of the young freedom fighters, even the young Sonic and Sally, contained many elements intended to provoke positive response, he had noticed, so providing a genuine-looking smile would help alleviate suspicions or negative thoughts harboured towards him. Not that he believed this lady could ever harbour any suspicions or negative thoughts at all, unless they were aimed at Robotnik.

His fake smile hadn't helped him much, though, when she'd asked why he had come.

"Did you come with the rest of the freedom fighters?"

Snively's smile had instantly faded. "Um... yes, I did... I was out doing my business when you called, you see."

"Ah, so that's why you were so reluctant! Well, you've got to go when you've got to go, eh?" Rosie giggled.

"Indeed," muttered Snively, glad that he had avoided further questioning.

Now, he returned to his stool, and looked at Rosie. "I don't think there was anything terribly wrong with Tails anyway."

Rosie sighed with relief, and chuckled softly. "Well either way, I'm very glad for your help, and your company. Even if there was nothing wrong, without you I don't know what state I'd be in!"

There was a brief silence, before Snively finally saw an opportune moment.

"Maybe I should go and find my friends," he said quietly.

Rosie nodded. "If there's any problems, I'll know who to ask for."

Snively stood up and walked out of the door in silence. Rosie called after him.

"Thank you so much, Miles!"

Snively tried his best to ignore it, and closed the door. He took a deep breath as he stood, staring at the huge trees and bushes once again in front of him. Taking a step forward, off the wooden patio of the nursery building, a powerful gust of wind suddenly caught him in a bad position and blew him over, out of the cover of the cabin. He was on the floor in full view of the entirety of Knothole.

Snively had no idea of what to do. Panic replaced all thoughts of trying to make an advantage of the situation.

Fortunately, Snively knew panic better than anybody else.

He stood up and turned around. Nobody was there. Another blessing of good luck.

Snively heaved a large sigh of relief, then scampered over to the next-closest cabin to try and eavesdrop. He couldn't hear anything from inside, so he ran around the back of it and moved along to the next cabin with haste. He could hear something from this one, so he shuffled along the side and pulled himself up to see through a window. Inside was a burly-looking rhinoceros and a tiger, both with their backs to the window. It was a couple of minutes of idle chit-chat before Snively began to pay full attention.

"I've heard the invasion's being done this evening, but that can't be true," said the tiger. The rhino nodded.

"I was confused too, but according to Sally they think Robotnik's covered up too long and they can't wait any longer."

The tiger shook his head. "We've barely got materials to take out one or two SWAT-bots each, despite us being outnumbered ten-to-one. I don't see how it's possible."

The rhino shrugged. "I think it's crazy too, but you have to admit waiting any longer is real risky, especially now that we have Robotnik's midget henchman-"

Another strong gust of wind blew in Snively's direction and knocked him off the window ledge. Snively landed hard on his back, and as he sat up, reeling over the term 'midget', the realization hit – the freedom fighters were attacking today? The time-traveller must have known about this, and the boy must have some master plan for it all... which is why he had been kidnapped, to allow the plan to flow smoothly. That, or the time-traveller didn't want Snively to be taken down with the Doomsday Project. But then why would he play for Robotnik's side?

He made his way to the next cabin, deep in thought, but stopped as he heard that recognisably self-satisfied tone of Sally's voice.

"I'm asking you for the last time – how do you know so much about Robotnik? And how does Uncle Chuck know you?"

Sonic's distinctly annoying voice chipped in too.

"He's not talkin', Sal. We should just lock him up."

"We can't, Sonic. He might know where Bunnie is."

Snively waddled over to the hut and very tentatively pulled himself up to look through a window. Inside, Sonic and Sally were standing with the time-traveller opposite them on a chair, slightly angled away from the window. The time-traveller had his eyes closed and head back.

"Ignorance is bliss," he said simply.

"Not specific enough!" Sally replied, clearly very frustrated.

"We're wasting time, Sal. C'mon, you're the one worried about time. Let's have the meeting to discuss the attack and come back to do this later," Sonic complained. He was obviously bored.

"This shouldn't take 5 more minutes. And if the time-traveller really is on our side, he'd appreciate the pressure we're under and co-operate!"

"You still have roughly 14 hours left until Chuck estimated Doomsday will happen. Let's say you need 5 hours for preparation, and you take 3 hours to get there plus another hour to do the assault... you still have another 5 free hours," the time-traveller said calmly. Snively noticed that despite his attitude, the boy was shaking.

"It's not gonna be a smooth ride, smart-ass," Sally snapped. Sonic jumped. He'd never seen Sally this angry before. Neither had Snively. It reminded him of Robotnik... maybe the two weren't so different.

The time-traveller finally opened his eyes and looked ahead, at Sonic and Sally. "It's never gonna be a smooth ride, Princess," he said simply, and his eyes wandered slightly before focusing very suddenly on Snively. "But if you want to make it smoother, you just have to trust in yourself."

Snively dropped from the window ledge instantly and jumped into the nearest bush. It was quite thorny, but right now he didn't mind. All he needed now was to get back to Robotropolis. He was finally grasping the extent of the freedom fighter's plans, and if he was right, then Robotnik needed to know.

"Well, well, well, what are we 'aving 'ere zen, hmm?"

Snively was pulled out of the bush backwards, which hurt even more than going in forwards, and was spun around to face a smug-looking coyote.

"Anozzer grande asheevment for moi! I have kidsnapped the Snively!" Antoine cried.

Snively cursed his luck.

 **13:30 HOURS LEFT / THE BARRELS**

"Are y'all there? What's yer deal, ya gonna bore me ta death?"

Bunnie had spent far too long in this room, a supposed 'torture chamber' which only consisted of a single iron chair, a desk, four walls and a ceiling. She had been restrained in the chair before, but the bots had underestimated the strength of her robotic arm, meaning she easily broke out. Escaping the room was a different matter, though, as the doors were much heavier than even she could manage. She'd spent a long time punching the door - and she'd made a very significant dent - before she realized it was doubly sealed. There was no way she was getting through it with brute force.

The two hours she'd been in the room had given her plenty of time to think, though, especially about why the time-traveller would be working with Robotnik. All she could come up with was that he just wanted to stay alive and un-Robotisized. Even then, he would probably have a lower chance if he was a freedom fighter. And he'd brought Snively to the freedom fighters too... Was it to keep him out of the way for the time-traveller's evil plans? He confused her.

She smashed the door again with her metal fist, screaming. "Stupid time-traveller! If y'all can hear me, ah'm imaginin' this door as yer head!" Punching it again, she sighed and fell backwards in exhaustion, looking up at the ceiling. She hadn't looked at it much in detail before, but suddenly she noticed what could be a fusebox linked to the door. The room was roughly 10 feet tall and Bunnie was barely 3 feet, and climbing was impossible as the walls were sheet metal. She got herself up quickly and stood on the top of the chair, jumping as high as she could possibly manage, but she was still nowhere near the fusebox.

A crackling noise and microphone spike interrupted her second jump attempt, and the grating voice of a SWAT-bot came through. "You will be extracted and robotisized in T-minus twelve minutes."

Bunnie groaned and slumped dejectedly onto the chair. "What happened to the torturin', huh? Not like ah'm askin' for it," she grumbled, looking at the dented door. "Come on, Sonic... when are ya gonna git here and help? Hurry-" she kicked the foot of the chair with her heel, "-the heck-" she kicked again, "-up!"

One last time she kicked the chair, before she felt her legs shoot out like pistols, only stopping as they slammed against the heavy iron doors of the room. She stared in wonder at the long metal legs, and realized that her ladder-legs had kicked in, and at the perfect time. They were a bit awkward to position, but as she picked herself up, she found herself almost face-to-face with the fusebox on the ceiling.

A quick punch to the box left the doors wide open, but Bunnie found a problem. Her ladder-legs were stuck, and she was nearly 10 feet tall. With a bit of trouble, she was able to crouch under the door, but the corridor was just too small for her, and walking was incredibly awkward (not to mention she was bending over and showing her rear in a most un-ladylike fashion). Yet as she got the hang of travelling through the small hallways on her extended legs, she noticed that there was absolutely no bots around. Maybe she'd been forgotten about, or something important was going on somewhere else.

Roughly ten minutes after she'd escaped, she heard the alarm siren go off. "Whuh-oh," she muttered, and quickly made her way to a nearby doorway. This one wasn't tightly locked, so forcing it open with her robotic arm was no problem here, and she ducked inside. It was some sort of store room, she figured, with hundreds of barrels on tall shelves stretching off into the distance. After staring at them for a while, she sat herself down behind a nearby stack and waited.

The sirens stopped after what felt like an eternity. She hoped that they had thought she had escaped, but now she had to be very careful around any of the surveillance cameras. It was just lucky she hadn't gone past any when getting here. She stood up straight, stretching her arms out. Her legs were still stuck, as no matter how much she had tinkered with them, they didn't seem to do anything. Moving out from behind her hiding spot, she noticed a barrel lying on its side in the middle of the room. With a quick check over her shoulder, she decided to test whether her kung-fu skills were any more powerful with longer legs.

"Hi-yah!" she screamed, stepping back before swinging her foot forward and hitting the barrel perfectly, sending it flying down the hallway. She smiled, impressed with herself, and was turning to check over her shoulder again to see if anyone had heard her when she noticed she'd taken two floor panels off as well.

She leant down carefully and inspected the floor underneath the panels. Dirt, with a large hole going deep into blackness. She hadn't expected to see even a hint of natural material in Robotropolis, let alone a secret passage in said natural material. There was a pretty large loose bolt lying on the floor nearby, presumably having come out with the panel, so she picked it up and dropped it into the hole, listening for a noise. The thud was soft, but didn't take long to come back out of the hole, so she decided it was shallow enough to climb into. It may have been leading right into Robotnik's hands, but it was a risk she needed to take now as she couldn't risk being spotted in the open.

The tunnel was not very tall, and pitch black, but bending over she could run at a very reasonable speed, and with an arm on the wall she kept herself running onwards. It would only be a matter of time, hopefully, before she found light again, but the best she found herself hoping for was to stay undetected, and hope that Sonic wasn't coming looking for her now.


	9. The Panels & The Hypocrites

**12:50 HOURS LEFT / THE PANELS**

Robotnik was getting rather annoyed at the disappearances of all his advisors. First Snively, now the time-traveller. He began to suspect the two were teaming up to take him down, but pushed the thoughts aside when he remembered that Snively hated the boy. Even so, he trusted neither of them as far as he could throw them, although after last week's tantrum he had noticed his throwing wasn't so bad. Perhaps, he thought, he should make himself worse at throwing just to be able to use that phrase. He chuckled.

It was frustrating too that the freedom fighter had escaped, although she'd given him all the information he wanted. The location of Knothole was unnecessary at this point of the Doomsday Project's construction - Robotnik was far more interested in the cries of "traitor" and "coward" picked up by the hidden surveillance camera in the torture chamber, and he took this as more than enough evidence to order all SWAT-bots to shoot the time-traveller on sight. A very successful turnout, even if he lost two potential worker-bots.

And the rabbit had been caught on camera once more, when she had escaped in the barrel storage room that the time-traveller had been earlier. He hadn't yet gotten around to reviewing the tape, so he played it on the main screen and watched the girl kick that same barrel the boy had knocked over, only for her to reveal and jump into a secret hole beneath the floor panels. What a delightful surprise. Barking a quick order at the screen, it began to rewind at super-speed. Not much happened in the room for a very long while, but for a few milliseconds he spotted the time-traveller and played the video back to look closer. The time-traveller unscrewed the floor panel with a screwdriver he tucked into his pocket and removed it, then climbed into the hole, pulling the panel delicately back over. It barely looked like it had been moved at all.

The clip was rewound more until he came across the time-traveller again, this time climbing out of the hole with Bunnie Rabbot unconscious over his shoulder. The boy was a little stronger than Robotnik had imagined, but the crucial point was that he now knew how the time-traveller had been getting in and out of Robotropolis. There was almost no doubt now that he was acting as a double agent. The final question was Snively – was he potentially aiding the freedom fighters too? It seemed unlikely, but the weasel was prone to muttering behind Robotnik's back, and he wouldn't be too surprised if Snively was a traitor too.

After rewinding the tape further, he spotted Snively in the early hours of the morning, being pulled into the storage room by the time-traveller. It appeared that Snively wasn't working with the time-traveller at all. "So..." Robotnik hissed, "...Snively's gotten himself kidnapped? Stupid little dwarf." At least now Robotnik had solid evidence for the boy's two-faced behaviour. The chair turned and Robotnik faced two SWAT-bots standing obediently and silently behind him. "Find the time-traveller! If he's not dead by the Doomsday Project's launch I'll scrap every bot in the city!"

But in his rage, he hadn't noticed the pathetic animal held between the SWAT-bots by the arms, squirming weakly. "I don't work for the freedom fighters, I swear, I'll do anything, just don't Robotisize me!" he started pleading as he noticed Robotnik looking at him, the man's hateful snarl quickly turning into a delighted grin.

There wasn't anything more satisfying than seeing a cowardly animal Robotisized, Robotnik thought to himself. "What a poor, pitiful creature. Terrified of my machine, hm? You should be. You're going to be the first robot to ever be created in my brand new Robotisizer! It'll erase every memory you once had of your... disappointingly short life. But look on the bright side, you'll be the talk of the whole city," he purred sarcastically.

The animal made a feeble squeak as he was dragged away, having worn himself out from struggling. Robotnik turned himself back to the screens and, after a few minutes, saw the prisoner forced into the Doomsday Project Robotisizer and the lever pulled. He tapped a button and turned the monitor's volume up to maximum, making the scream echo around the room and give him those delightful chills. "How eloquently symbolic," he thought aloud, "of my coming victory over the freedom fighters."

The Doomsday Project was complete. Robotnik chuckled once again. His chuckle became a booming, throaty roar of laughter. Victory... at last.

 **12:30 HOURS LEFT / THE HYPOCRITES**

Lupe of the Wolf Tribe had spent a lot of the morning with the leaders of the other freedom fighter groups, but she found a lot of them irritating. Sally and Ari seemed to be the only two people in the entire freedom fighters with any sort of tactical knowledge, the rest being wannabe heroes or mere sheep following the orders set by Sally or herself. Ari had slightly less influence, as the leader of an entirely Robotisized freedom fighter group, but his authority was never questioned. The metaphor of sheep came to Lupe's mind again, and wondered how helpless a flock of sheep would be against Robotnik without a true leader.

She was on her way to meet Ari now. Griff had been entirely uncooperative, but he was young. Ari had age and experience, like herself, although she had been told that some of Ari's intelligence came from a short-lived alliance with Robotnik in the past. If she didn't know better, she'd have suspicions that he could be with Robotnik again, but Sally had reassured her that he had only done it for his family. Lupe knew how tight the bonds of family were within conflict. Her father had left her at a young age to fight Robotnik, but he had never come back. Every time she'd made it as far as Robotropolis, her eye was kept open for any signs of her father, especially with the discovery that Sonic's Uncle Chuck had 'recovered' from his robotisation.

Age and experience didn't always help when finding the right hut, though...

It took her a little while, and a few embarrassing pokes into some occupied huts, but she found the ram waiting for her in an inconspicuous little hut tucked behind two others, and he opened the door for her.

The Knothole freedom fighters' accommodations often weren't well-equipped. The freedom fighters had thrown up the houses in a hurry when Doomsday signs began appearing, and most of them were furnished with little more than a standard kitchen, a fire, an uncomfortable bed, an unpolished table with chairs and a cotton-stuffed blue sofa. Unsurprisingly, Lupe had seen fighting competitions for who got to sleep on the sofa in a few huts, but all of the freedom fighters knew that comfort was less of a worry than Robotnik was.

A few had even made some battle proposals to her, and she shared a few with Ari as they both sat on the sofa together, looking at the empty fireplace. They both agreed that decisions should be left to the leaders of the fighter groups with a little laugh, but the truth was that they were extremely worried. The fighters had already expressed concern that the assault was happening so quickly, and Ari interpreted it as meaning they were entirely unprepared – no training, no definitive plan told to them. Without a leader to rely on, they wouldn't know what to do. Such were the problems of a life without any sort of proper education, Lupe suggested, recalling her earlier thoughts.

"We will get it worked out, Lupe," Ari reassured her. "Sally has an emergency meeting in half an hour, and we'll have everything decided then. Besides, there is a backup strategy – the Deep Power Stones. We don't know exactly what they'll do, but if Robotnik is scared of them enough to bluff their destruction, we know we have a powerful tool in our hands."

"I'm wondering more about what will happen to Robotropolis when we destroy the Doomsday Machine. Will it all blow up?" Lupe said quietly.

Ari thought for a second, then saw the look in Lupe's eyes as she looked ahead, at the empty fire, and remembered his own freedom fighters as robots. "I think it will," he admitted grimly. "And if it doesn't, the explosion from the Doomsday Machine will probably do a lot of damage. At least we know it'll guarantee Robotnik's defeat."

"Then we need to assault soon. The sooner we do it, the more time we might have to find our families. Ari..." she turned to face him, "...you agree, right?" Lupe asked. She knew that sentimentality was a weakness in war, but she couldn't help it. Her father was more important to her than destroying all of Robotropolis, and she was certain that Ari felt the same way about his freedom fighters. The ram's face was difficult to interpret, she knew. He always had a stony look about it, even if he had quite an expressive personality, and she wondered if he was more complex than he let on.

Ari eventually nodded his head in agreement as he looked at Lupe. "There isn't anything I wouldn't do for my freedom fighters. We should talk to Sally about this in the meeting."

Lupe smiled. "Yes, we should. Thank you for understanding, Ari."

"Would you like something to drink?" Ari suggested, standing up and making his way over to the kitchen area. "I'm gonna get myself a glass of water."

Lupe relaxed in the sofa and crossed her legs. "Yeah, pour me one too."

Ari pulled one of the wooden chairs over to sit in front of Lupe after handing her her drink, and they started to talk about the time-traveller.

"He's a wolf, apparently," Ari said. Lupe nodded.

"I saw him telling Sally that the Doomsday Project would be happening tonight. He's quite young, actually. I wouldn't even say he's past 18."

"A lot of Knothole's freedom fighters are quite young, I've noticed. They might be more willing to trust him if he's the same age as them," Ari said, taking a sip of his drink.

"Sally doesn't trust him."

"She doesn't?"

"Well, where is he now? Certainly not helping everyone out like someone dedicated to saving the world at all costs would."

Ari nodded. "I suppose so. I take it that means you don't trust him either?"

"I don't know. He's a wolf, so he's one of my tribe's descendants. Maybe even one of our children. He supposedly knows one of the freedom fighters from the future, but without specifying who I only have another reason to be suspicious," Lupe admitted, finishing her glass in one gulp and placing it on the floor in front of the sofa. "Whether or not he's trustworthy, a time limit for the mission is more of a benefit than a hindrance. Sure, he might be leading us into a trap if he's not working with us, but waiting any longer is a risk we shouldn't take."

"And if Rotor's helmets are going to work, traps will be much harder to spring on us," Ari smiled, holding up his glass in the general direction of Rotor's lab. "Rotor's a great engineer. I have complete faith in him."

"Absolutely," Lupe agreed. "He's one of the few people here that I trust completely."

Ari looked at Lupe. "Am I one of those few people?" he asked quietly.

"Of course not! You're far too dangerous!" Lupe laughed.

Ari laughed as well. Hope was a wonderful drug.

"But if it makes you feel better, you're definitely the closest friend I have here, and with Robotnik about and nobody to trust, we all need friendships," Lupe said.

Ari nodded and finished his own drink. "You're right... but can I ask one more thing? Is Sally another one of those few people you trust?"

There was a short silence before they returned to their thoughts of the time-traveller, and then the future. A few minutes later, both Lupe and Ari left to reconvene with their freedom fighters, and while they were walking out of the hut they noticed Antoine pulling a small bald man towards the doors of another hut.

"I wouldn't have put Antoine in charge of Snively, if I were Sally..." Lupe joked.


	10. The Time-Traveller's Mother & The Mirror

**AN:** _Thanks everyone for reading this far - I know it's been a while since the last upload but work (and my new camera) got in the way! This is the longest chapter yet, at over 2400 words, but I think it's quite deserving of that count as some big things happen this time. I hope you all enjoy!_

* * *

 **12:15 HOURS LEFT / THE TIME-TRAVELLER'S MOTHER**

"...And you will not be escaping zis time, non! I 'ave got ze ropes zat even ze great escaper Houndini will never be escaping from."

Snively had quickly gotten sick of Antoine's broken English. He'd spent nearly an hour in the idiot's company in his hut and he already felt he was going mad – the coyote just wouldn't shut up. Antoine had asserted that telling Sally he had kidnapped Snively would be against the 'grande plan', making Snively wonder how he had come up with anything close to resembling strategy. He had no idea how the freedom fighters managed to put up with this.

"You know, I am related to Houndini, hmm? Maybe zat is where I get my incredible skills zat I am so very valued for in ze freedom fighters, like, uhm..."

Skills? Snively almost laughed at Antoine's deliberation.

"Like my 'andsome and sharming good looks, ah?"

Snively rolled his eyes. He had no idea what the idiot saw in himself that made him believe he was so great. At least Robotnik knew he controlled an enormous oil empire and unstoppable robot army.

"Do you not think zat I am ze 'andsomest? I look in ze mirror and I see ze reflection of Juliet, ze symbol of romance..."

"You mean Romeo, you ignorant weasel," Snively interrupted.

"Zat is what I say, you must be blind not to hear!"

Snively's brain began to ache.

The overgrown rat had finally decided to drag Snively out of his hut and towards another with some poorly-tied ropes. Snively considered making a run for it, but noticed freedom fighters staring at him. There was no way he'd even make it to the bushes before he'd be stopped or caught, even if his ropes were already falling apart and off of him. That, and he still wanted his watch back. Disappointed, he looked up at the cabin he was being pulled towards, and recognised it as the one he'd seen Sally and Sonic in before, along with-

The time-traveller. As Snively was led into the room, the boy was seemingly asleep, hunched over in the chair with his hands tied behind it. Antoine ran ahead and grabbed a chair, moving it to face the time-traveller's, and pointed at it. Snively snorted contemptuously and looked away.

"Allez! Go, go, get 'ere!" Antoine ordered.

Snively remained defiant, and Antoine sighed. "Clearly you are not ze clever person, look! I go and kindly fetch you a chair and you are looking ze wrong way!" he complained, stomping over to Snively and spinning him around before pulling him over to the seat and tying him feebly to it again.

"Now stay zere! I am going to fetch Sally and tell her of my accomplishments," Antoine declared, then ran out of the door and slammed it shut. The noise jolted the time-traveller awake, and as he looked up and blinked wearily, he froze.

"Snively. I see you got kidnapped then," he said slowly, and with a brief yawn.

"Don't play me for a fool, boy! I know you brought me here. And I know your plans for the Doomsday Project," Snively lied with a snarl. He was hoping to force a confession out of the wolf before Sally got the information.

"Plans? All I did was suggest that more bots should focus on building it. Robotnik's got all the plans locked up tight, away from me. And you."

Snively narrowed his eyes. The boy was cunning with his words, but that gave him all the more reason to believe he could have subtly coaxed Robotnik into making a mistake. "So, when will the Doomsday Project be complete?"

"Tonight, if all goes as planned for Robotnik. The freedom fighters don't have the Deep Power Stones; they can't stop it."

'A-ha,' Snively thought. 'He's made a mistake there.'

"And is it just a coincidence that the freedom fighters are attacking tonight, or was that your recommendation too? I was told there'd been only silence from that treacherous hedgehog-bot."

Snively noticed something in the boy's face. It looked like fear.

"The freedom fighters aren't entirely helpless... they will be able to damage the Doomsday Project beyond repair if it's activated when they attack. It won't be a killing blow to Robotnik, but it'll be a very long time before things get back to a state where he can work on Doomsday again... and he'll probably lack the confidence to do so."

Snively stared, everything the boy had done suddenly making sense in just a few seconds. "What?" he gasped quietly. "So... you want neither side to win?"

"Correct, but there aren't just two sides to this conflict. There's Robotnik, the freedom fighters, and the planet," the time-traveller sighed.

Snively frowned. "What do you mean?"

"When I told Robotnik that the world Sally ruled in the future was a disaster, I was not lying. I was born in that future, and I lost everything to that future. My home, my possessions, my foot, my... mother. I had to change the past somehow, to prevent other people from feeling the same loss. I used the Time Stones to go back and see what the people's lives would be like if Robotnik won the Battle of Doomsday, so I helped him and we won. It only took a few months before there were no humans or animals left on the planet, only robots, and the world began to crumble underneath Robotnik's feet as he sucked it dry of its resources. In order to save both my mother and the planet, I had to go back in time again...

"I arrived earlier than I had last time, so that I could kill my past self and try to figure out a way that meant neither side won. Sonic and Sally found me in the Great Unknown and took me in, and I earned their trust by telling them 'information from the future' about the Doomsday Project. I spent a couple of weeks with them as the Project was under construction and guaranteed that I was trusted by everyone important, all while I was digging a passage into Robotropolis that I'd figured out in the future would get me in and out of the city easily and quickly. You know the rest – I told Robotnik about the oil lakes, bought his respect, and started my persuasion from there... I just had to guarantee that the planet would survive by making neither Sally or Robotnik win the Battle of Doomsday."

Snively, after absorbing the information, shook his head. "You're selfish," he spat.

The time-traveller growled. "What?!"

"If you'd waited just a few years longer in Sally's future, the chaos would naturally have come to an end," Snively sneered.

"Are you saying Sally's victory is something you think would work? When you serve Robotnik?!"

"I'm saying you are selfish. You would risk hundreds of lives to protect just your mother."

"I CAN protect her!"

"You're acting like a child! You're not only overestimating your own power, but you're also just being petty. The world will die eventually, as will your mother. You won't be able to keep her alive forever. I lost _my_ mother when I was young, but I knew that I couldn't change that. I didn't preach my false heroism to people to exploit them into working for me. I didn't want to go back and save her. We can't change if we don't make sacrifices." This was the first time Snively had ever been able to vent in this way. It was refreshing, although there was still things he wanted to say. Decency restrained him. Even if the boy was almost a complete fool, he had some respect for how well he'd manipulated Robotnik.

"You don't know what it's like, then! My mother was the kindest woman I've ever known. She gave her life for me. I must pay her back."

Snively's mind oddly turned to thoughts of Rosie.

"You could pay her back by respecting her memory, and not trying to be some stupid hero."

He realized he was being sympathetic again. Perhaps all the talk about mothers had stirred some long-forgotten memories. Maybe it was just this place. Nature wasn't exactly nostalgic for him, but it was very present in his younger years.

"Anyway... I know your plans, now, and I will do everything in my power to stop them."

The time-traveller looked surprised. "Even after all I've said?"

Snively shook his head. "Have you not heard of the Butterfly Effect? The future could be changed already by just your presence. Besides... I'm not a mindless worker-bot like Julian seems to think I am. I have plans for my own life, with or without Robotnik or Sally."

For once, the time-traveller shut up.

In this brief period of silence, both prisoners thought they heard a scuttling of feet. Antoine, who had been sitting outside the room and eavesdropping the whole time, was running towards Sally's hut.

"Antoine, you 'ave outdid yourself. Now you know zeir plans of evil and Sally will be very much wanting a kiss or two for me, oh yes!"

 **11:45 HOURS LEFT / THE MIRROR**

Rotor had been working on his new inventions for weeks before Doomsday started appearing, but he'd not expected to have been forced to rush them so much in the last week. He had a tally of just twelve hours of sleep over the whole week so far, and the pressure handed onto him by not only the time-traveller's new deadline but also the whole drama surrounding the guy wasn't making him feel much better. Any mistakes in these machines could cost lives, and there simply wasn't enough time to perfect them.

Rotor had low self-esteem, but admitted even to himself that his strongest quality was his ability to find a positive in everything, and that was keeping him going. Sally's occasional concerned visits helped too, even if he did have to lie a little about his tiredness. The truth was that he was more exhausted than he'd ever been in his life, and he was beginning to wonder if taking a short nap would hurt much. Sally had her meeting starting any minute now, so nobody would come and interfere, and although there was more testing that could be done, he wouldn't be able to work for much longer. Just one more check.

He tapped his pencil on the metal workbench as he waited for the gauge to shift, and noted down the reading as soon as it did. The promise of a short sleep was tantalising now – he hurried around the bench and positioned himself in front of the mirror, which he had 'borrowed' from Antoine, much to Antoine's displeasure. "My mirror is only for ze 'andsome visahge of myself, not for ze testing of ze silly doo-dads," he had said. Rotor had ignored him, which was surprisingly easy.

Rotor took a deep breath, and adjusted his position. Getting his balance right was easy – the weight of the boots dragged his legs straight down and made him stand as rigid as a pole. He pressed the button on the helmet and, exactly as planned, the image in the mirror changed. With a sigh of relief, Rotor turned the helmet off again and took it off, putting it on the desk and running over to his comfortable armchair.

Just as he was dozing off, he heard a familiar voice.

"Rotor? You awake, darlin'?"

He opened his eyes wearily, but smiled as he saw Bunnie leaning down and peeking through the hallway. Her ladder-legs were activated, strangely, and she didn't look too excited. At least she wasn't missing any longer, he thought.

"It's good to see you, Bunnie, we've been worried," he said, standing up and slowly making his way outside to meet her, now standing full-height.

"Well, ah've been over havin' a lovely cuppa tea with our dear friend Robotnik."

"You mean you were kidnapped?!"

"By none other than the time-traveller himself."

Rotor sighed. "Sonic and Sally were right, then. We shouldn't have trusted him."

"Yeah, but don't y'all worry, ah busted out. Was quite a pain walkin' with these ol' legs givin' me back pains the whole way though; they're stuck. Can ya help a girl out?"

Rotor laughed and kneeled down, examining her ankles. "So you mean to say you walked all the way from Robotropolis to here like this? How didn't you get seen?"

"Ah came across a secret tunnel that led from the middle'a bot-town to here. Ah think the time-traveller used it to get me in the city. Useful, though, right?"

"No kidding!" Rotor chirped enthusiastically as Bunnie slowly descended, the legs retracting into themselves neatly. "If the tunnel's big enough, we could use it to get people into Robotropolis tonight, and that solves our absolute biggest problem! Wow, Bunnie, maybe the time-traveller helped us after all!"

"Ah still wanna get mah hands on 'im an' pound 'im a new one... But thanks for helpin' with the legs, hun," she said as she reached his level finally, then leant over and kissed him gently on the cheek. "Much appreciated, darlin'."

Rotor blushed, a burst of energy suddenly filling him that even a nap wouldn't have given. "U-uh, you're welcome, Bunnie. I-if you wanna find the others, they're having a meeting, I think, about what's happening to-"

"Hold on a mo, hun, is that a mirror you've got in there? Ah need to see how ah look!"

Bunnie dashed indoors, not even giving Rotor a chance to think, and he spun around to follow after her. "Hey, wait up, Bunnie!"

He found her looking into the mirror with a sullen look on her face. "Ah'm sure glad that ah didn't have ta face any bots like this. Mah hair's all over the place, mah arm's all fuzzy, mah ears are frazzled ta heck – why, ah look positively terrible!"

Rotor suddenly had an idea and rushed over to Bunnie, grinning broadly. "Hey, Bunnie, wanna play a prank on Sally?"

Bunnie looked at Rotor skeptically. "That would be awful dirty, Rote. Sal's not been doin' too well recently," she pointed out. Rotor shook his head.

"I think she'll like this prank!" he argued. "It may be a little scary at first, but when you reveal it's all good, she'll be over the moon!"

Bunnie considered for a while, but eventually accepted, and helped Rotor lift the helmet onto her head ("At least when you take it off, you have a good excuse for your helmet-hair," Rotor had joked, leading to a sharp slap from Bunnie). He stepped back and nodded proudly as her appearance changed.

"Gimme a 'priority one', Bunnie!" he called excitedly.


	11. The Inventor

**AN:** _Sorry that it's been a while since the last update but various things have been keeping me quite busy! I can't guarantee a regular schedule going forward but for now enjoy this chapter. We're starting to make some real progress now!_

* * *

 **11:30 HOURS LEFT / THE INVENTOR**

Sally was frustrated. She'd given up on the time-traveller's cryptic replies and lost all hope in getting any sort of help from him. There was little doubt that he was a double agent of some sort for Robotnik, she now suspected, which pleased Sonic to no end. Yet the truly annoying thing about the time-traveller was that she had hoped that he had an alternate entrance to Robotropolis – one that had been used to take Snively out – but that seemed highly unlikely as all the evidence pointed to him using Snively to buy their trust, an act likely condoned by Robotnik.

And yet nothing was truly conclusive. Chuck's letter was the most damning piece of evidence against all the suspicions she had - she had never mentioned the time-traveller in her previous letters to Chuck, so he would have met the boy personally, and yet if he worked for Robotnik alone then Chuck would not have had any chance to send the morning's letter, and he would have outright stated that the time-traveller was a traitor. Her head was hurting enough already without all the stress about this kid.

The only noise in the meeting room was the consistent tapping of a foot, and there were no awards for guessing who was responsible. His pride from first discovering the time-traveller's betrayals had worn off a little too quickly, so Sonic had nothing to do but cross his arms and sigh.

"Booooring."

"Well, do you have any bright ideas in that clearly overworked head of yours, Sonic?" Sally spat sarcastically.

"Duh. The Deep Power Stones?" Sonic said, then smiled with smug satisfaction.

Sally hated when he did that.

"We discussed that half an hour ago, Sonic. We can't just use them and hope for the best. We don't even know how powerful they really are, or more appropriately, if they're powerful enough! This means that we have to get into the Doomsday Project before we use them, and if they don't work? What if Robotnik _wasn't_ bluffing when we destroyed the 'fake'?"

Sonic snorted. "Well sorr-ee. Too much information at once, just gimme the important bits."

"We need a backup plan," Sally sighed.

"Why can't we just roll with it when the time comes? We've beaten Robotnik countless times without any sort of plan. We're the best butt-kickers on the planet, Sal!"

Sally ran her hands through her hair. "Remember Cat? He was a victim of poor planning, and that was in just a simple mission to defend Knothole. Now, we have to defend the entire world! There is no room for mistakes here, Sonic!"

Ari nodded in agreement. "Sally's right, Sonic. Robotnik would know the threat of giving us the Deep Power Stones. If we have the true one, he would have put up much more of a fight to defend them, so we can't guarantee they'll be the true ones. We need a Plan B."

Sonic sighed and rested his head on his hands. "That's a bummer."

"Talk about it," Sally said dejectedly, and looked around the room. "Has anyone come up with even the slightest idea yet?"

There was absolute silence for a long, agonizing moment. This time, even the huts were quiet. A cold breeze flew through the hall, and suddenly carried with it the sounds of an out-of-breath walrus running towards them. At the end nearest to the entrance of the hall, Lupe stood up as she saw Rotor hobbling forwards, flailing his arms wildly.

"Guys! Guys!" he gasped, stopping in full view of the meeting hall. The distressed tone to his voice and expression made both Sonic and Sally immediately jump out of their seats. He turned and pointed behind him with a shaking finger as they ran over.

"Bunnie!" Sally screamed.

Bunnie was fully robotisized as she slowly drudged towards the freedom fighters now collected outside the meeting hall, arms outstretched like a zombie. "Freedom fighters, priority one, capture freedom fighters..." came the undeniably robotic monotone voice from Bunnie's mouth.

Lupe's hand was first to reach her handgun and pull it up to aim directly at the robot. Rotor noticed this and panicked, jumping at her. "No, don't shoot her!" he cried, knocking over Lupe, but also ending up on the floor himself. Lupe growled at Rotor and pushed him away from her, aiming the gun yet again.

"She's not Bunnie any more – she knows the location of Knothole!"

Robot-Bunnie suddenly stopped moving and put her hands up, shaking her head. "Hey, hold on there, don't shoot me!" came the metallic voice again, a little more expressive this time. She moved one hand down to her head and pressed a small switch on the side, and the freedom fighters watched as the robotic appearance faded away, leaving Bunnie with a big metal helmet on. She pulled it off and smiled warmly at everyone. "Hey there fellas!"

Sally gaped. "Bunnie, you're safe!" she cried, and ran over instantly to give her friend a warm hug. "We were so worried about you!"

Bunnie laughed and patted her friend's back affectionately as Lupe and Rotor stood up, both smiling. "Aw, sugar-cube, y'all should know that ah'm too tough fer 'buttnik. Ah'd never let ya down!" Bunnie said, then stood back as Rotor opened his arms in anticipation. Sally turned around, still grinning.

"Rotor, oh my gosh!" was the best she could manage before she ran over to him as well and gave him a painfully tight hug.

"I guess you liked my prank, huh?" Rotor gasped, giving Bunnie a quick self-satisfied look. She rolled her eyes at him as Sally stepped back from the hug.

"Actually, I hated it. It was very rude!"

Rotor turned bright red and started scratching the back of his neck. "Oh, uh, sorry," he apologised sheepishly. Over Sally's shoulder, he could see Bunnie sticking her tongue out.

"I guess you really made up for it, though!" she admitted, laughing, and looked back at the helmet in Bunnie's hand. "So this is your long-awaited Fake Robotisizer, then?"

"Catchy name," Griff remarked under his breath.

"You bet it is! The helmet creates a hologram for all the organic matter underneath it, making it look like a robot. It even has a little microphone in there to make your voice sound all robotic!" Rotor declared proudly. Lupe looked at Ari, and he looked back. Both of them nodded, silently agreeing to meet later and discuss – the official meeting was now definitely over.

"Rotor, I don't know what to say!" Sally exclaimed. "This invention might completely win this war!"

Rotor beamed. "I do have a few rules which I'll need to go over with everyone who's gonna use a helmet, but otherwise we have the perfect disguise. Oh, and, erm..." his expression finally began to falter, "...I only have five helmets. Maybe two or three more by tonight."

The excited chatter from the group of freedom fighters was silenced. Sally's smile faded slowly, but Rotor still seemed a little excited. "Hey, cheer up, guys! I've got another one we can use, for groups! It's these big poles which four people hold, they scan the area and project holograms onto everyone in the space between the poles. It's less useful for individuals, but for big groups we'll have our own robotic rallies!"

A general sigh of relief passed through the freedom fighters before one called out. "We can't just simply walk into Robotropolis!"

Bunnie held up a hand and waved. "Ah gotcha covered. When ah escaped Robotropolis, ah found this big long tunnel leadin' right into the middle o' the place! We can fit two abreast down there and sneak in completely secret. 'Buttnik won't know what hit 'im!"

Sally held a hand over her mouth, close to tears. The freedom fighter group cheered as Sonic stepped forward and put an arm over her shoulder, having let Rotor a chance at the spotlight for a while. "We're finally gonna beat 'buttnik, Sal! Save the happy crying for after he's gone, right?" he said softly. Sally turned to him and smiled, then gave him a quick kiss.

"I just can't believe it's going to happen. We're going to save the world!"

All of the freedom fighters, outside and in the huts, were suddenly hopeful. Rotor wasn't nearly as tired as he was before, and started running back to his lab to make more helmets. Ari and Lupe started their walk back to the small hut, both hopeful for their loved ones' survivals. The other freedom fighter leaders began making their way to their friends to deliver the news. Finally, Bunnie joined Sonic and Sally to talk about the future.

Then, they heard something far more foreboding than it should have been.

"Ohhh ma prinzess?"


End file.
